Colour Calibration

Collage on wood panel
250mm x 250mm
2022
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Colour Calibration imagines the grammar of a moderated virtual reality. Its lexicon of icons, symbols, and actions feels familiar yet estranged, hinting at a world that is both tethered to ours and entirely fabricated. Within this invented space, norms are enforced, gestures are coded, and participation is policed. The act of “calibration” here is not simply a technical adjustment but a form of governance, a way of setting the parameters of experience and deciding what counts as real.
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At once dazzling and disquieting, the collage critiques the hidden architecture of digital life. It asks: who holds the power to calibrate our perceptions, and who designs the rules that shape interaction? In true Paperpunk style, Colour Calibration turns glossy surfaces into a charged commentary on power, spectacle, and control. Witty, bold, and layered with tension, it is a compelling addition to any collection seeking art that probes the edges of our mediated world.
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This work was exhibited in CONTENT, a 2024 solo exhibition at Braemar Gallery in Springwood, New South Wales. Within the exhibition it resonated as an incisive reflection on the governance of digital culture, part of a broader exploration into how contemporary life is staged and mediated.

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For the last 30 years I have been making physical, analogue, hand-cut collage art using only found materials.

That is an important distinction to make. When sourcing materials my work I do not use any form of reproduction, copying or digital manipulation in any way. All of the elements, all of the images that I use in my artworks, have been collected from the pages of magazines, books and comics, or from other printed materials like pamphlets, posters or flyers. A large part of the process of creating these pieces lies in the collection of the components. That is the thrill of the hunt; looking for the right pieces to fit together in order to create these compositions. Once found, the images are then hand cut from the page, most often with the use of scissors.

Once the materials have been collected and the collage has been constructed, my artwork then undergoes a process of varnishing, which not only give the collage a nice finish but also vastly improves the permanence of the item. All of the work that you see here has been treated with many layers of varnish and then buffed to a smooth finish. I often complete these artworks with a glossy top coat that gives each piece a shiny lustre that greatly enhances the vibrancy of the colours.

My studio is in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, on Dharug and Gundungurra country.